The Knights of Arceus
by Labyrinth of Lies
Summary: Eric is a 12-year old boy who has not managed to catch a Pokemon in his hometown of Snowpoint City. But when he saves a pikachun in the wild, everything about his life changes. this fic has short chapters, but here will be alot of them. Rated M for blood and gore in future chapters. I guess this story could involve more Pokemon, but I'm more of a fantasy writer. I dont own pokemon.
1. Chapter 1

Eric is a 12 year-old boy with white hair and red eyes who has not managed to catch a pokemon outside his hometown, Snowpoint City. But when he saves a pikachu in the wild everything changes.

This is the first piece I have ever written. This does not necessarily mean it will be bad. Here is the setting (this fic is in no way related to the actual story line of any pokemon game or show). *stands for thoughts.*

Chapter 1

"Coming Mom!" Eric said drowsily. He hated getting up this early in the morning. But sadly, this is when most pokemon are sleeping, making them easier to catch. Eric has been trying to catch a pokemon since he was seven, while living in Slateport City. Then he decided he might have better luck in Sinnoh, so he asked his mother if they could move there. Unfortunately, the only house that they could afford was in Snowpoint.

Eric got up, and put on his clothes, then his favorite hoodie, a green pull-over with a pokeball in the middle. *Today will be different*. He thought this everyday, but today, it just seemed to him as if fate had stopped playing it's cruel joke. As he walked down the stairs, he was going over, in his head, various capture strategies. Yes, he was a very intelligent boy, but he lacked one thing, luck.

"What's for breakfast?" he asked hungrily.

"Your favorite," she said. Her name is Alicia, Alicia Goldflyer. Yes, she has the same last name as Eric, but he profers that no one use it. It sounds to regal to him.

Alicia placed a plate of chocolate chip-covered waffles on the table, which was devoured in minutes.

"Thanks Mom," Eric said as he dashed out the door. "Dang it, I forgot the pokeballs," he said. As he was turning around, he ran into a girl with hair and eyes the same as Eric's, otherwise known as the first friend he ever made in Snowpoint, or Madeline.

"Hey Madeline," Eric said, rubbing his head, "How have you been?"

"I told you years ago to call me Maddie," she said. "Anyway, are you off to try to catch a pokemon again?" Eric eyed the male pikachu, named Cole, that was sitting on her shoulder before they ran into each other with envy. That pikachu had never uttered a sound when he was within earshot, but now that he thought about it, no pokemon had ever made a sound when he was around.

"Yeah, but I don't think I can catch one. Today will be like all the days before it." he said in a discouraged tone.

"Oh come on Eric, you should be more confident!" Maddie said. She had always been more upbeat than anyone in the city.

"I'll try, but no guarantees," Eric exclaimed. "Bye." Eric didn't wait for a reply before racing into the woods. (yes i know he forgot to get the pokeballs) As he was walking around trying to spot a pokemon, hopefully a sleeping one, ha heard the cry of a pokemon not suited for this cold weather. As he ran toward it hoping to see what it was. He knew he had heard that cry before, but he just couldn't place it. As he drew closer to the source, he saw a large group if pokemon, gathered around a single spot, attacking something. Eric wanted to know more. He climbed the nearest tree and took a look at the center. It was a Pikachu! Eric jumped out of the tree and ran toward the group. An Ambasnow turned around to see Eric rushing at them, and then threw a punch at him, sending him flying backwards. *Damn, whatever these pokemon are doing, they don't want to be interrupted.* he charged again, this time sucessfully making it to the pikachu, then sheilding it. This only enraged the surrounding pokemon. They began hitting Eric as well as the pikachu. *so this is where I die,* he thought, his vision starting to go blurry.*beaten to death by a herd of pokemon.*

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he heard Maddie's voice say. The pokemon scattered. "Oh my god, Eric!" Then all went dark.

Sorry for the short chapter. The rest of the fic will be this way. But there will be a lot of chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Everything was still dark to Eric. "Am I dead?" he said into his surroundings, which were nothing but darkness.

"No, you are very much alive," the shadows said, "But what you did today will change your destiny in more than one way."

"What? Who said that?" Eric said, freightened. " Oh wait, i'm dreaming, that's it, isn't it?" Eric questioned. "I must have been kicked in the head by one of those pokemon."

"You are not dreaming, this is a telepathic message." The darkness said. "By sheilding that pikachu, you have chaxanged the path you will walk in life drastically."

"How will that change my life? I want answers!"

"Sorry, but this is something I cannot deliver. You are about to wake up. Goodbye. You must not inform anyone of this conversation."

Eric sat up, sweating. "He's awake! Come on, Alicia, he's awake!"

"Yes I know, Maddie, I have been standing here the whole time. What happened, Eric?"

"I was out trying to catch a pokemon, and I saw a horde of pokemon beating on a pikachu!" Eric said excitedly. "Wait, did you help the pikachu too?"

"Yes Eric, it is in the room near us. It had taken quite a beating." Alicia said.

"May I see it?" Eric really wanted to see the pokemon who's life he had saved.

"Yes." Eric got up quickly, but fell down in pain just as fast. "Oh, god. I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you that your leg was broken."

"Fantastic. Where are my crutches?" Eric said, clutching his ankle.

"Right here." His mom was holding them out to him.

"Thank you. Well, off I go." he hoisted himself on to the crutches, and started to make his way to the room down the hall. When he got to the room, he noticed that the pikachu had taken less damage than he did. "guess I got there pretty soon after it started. Lucky mouse." he walked over and touched it's head. It's eyes began to open. But then came the suprise. It opened its mouth to form the syllables of its name. *Wow, this will be the first time a pokemon has spoken to me!*But instead if the word pikachu, something different came out.

"Where you the one that saved me?" Eric was absolutely taken aback by this.

"Y-you, you spoke! Words!" Eric managed to say.

"What! You mean to say you can understand me?" By now he gathered that the pikachu was a she, for it had a girls's voice.

"Yes, but you're a pokemon, pokemon don't talk!" Eric was freaking out by now.

"Well, i'm not speaking english I'm still speaking pokemon, so you must be special," she said.

"How so?" Eric was still questioning how he could understand pokemon.

"Well, let's think. have you ever been able to understand any other pokemon before me?" she questioned.

"I can't say I have because no other pokemon has ever uttered a sound near me." He replied.

*Could he be? No I must push that thought out, it can't be him.* "Interesting, pokemon must just not like you. But you seem fine to me."

At that moment, the nurse came in to check on this pikachu, and noticed Eric as well. "What are you doing here, this patient is still recovering!" she sounded mad.

"N-no, you don't understand, this is the pokemon I ended up here for," he said, "So, may I please stay a bit longer?"

"I suppose so." the nurse looked irritated, but she left anyway.

"Now that she's gone, we can try to figure out why I can understand you."

"Okay, let's-," she fell over, unconscious.

"What? Wake up!" he looked over at the screens, and they read that she had a completely normal heartbeat. She had just fainted from over exertion. "Thank god."

Maddie walked into the room with a worried look on her face, saying "You know, if i hadn't come to give you the pokeballs that you forgot after we talked that morning, you might have died." But before she could ask for a thank you, Eric had all ready taken action. He was hugging her.

"I know. Which is why I am thanking you like this. You have no idea what this means to me." Maddie was trying her best to hide a blush. She wasn't doing well.

"You're welcome."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Eric and the female pikachu, who had informed him that her name was Julia, had agreed to meet in the hospital every day until she was released. On the very last day this happened: "Rather than this pokemon being released into the wild, I would like to take her with me." Eric said in a pleading tone.

"Well, I see no problem with this as long as the pikachu agrees." Julie gave a nod to the nurse, signifying her approval. "Okay then, this pikachu will go home with you, Eric. Here is the pokeball. She has not been captured with it yet, so that can be done at home, okay?" Eric nodded as he walked out the door, with Julie perched on his shoulder. Neither one said a word the entire way home.

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As he walked through the door to his house, he noticed his mother sitting at the table. Without looking up, she acknowledged him. "Hello Eric. How was your visit to the pikachu?" she turned around, and was astonished to see that very pokemon sitting on his shoulder. "Brought it home, huh?" She said.

"Well yeah, she looked like she wanted to, so I did. I hope you're not mad at me." Eric sounded nervous.

"First of all, I had no idea that it was a she. And no, I am not at all mad. You can keep it. Have you caught her yet?"

"No. I was going to my room to do that now." Eric was very nervous by now. He still had not told her that he could talk to pokemon.

Alicia nodded her approval.

Then Eric dashed up to his room, threw his backpack in the corner, and sat on his bed.

"You know, you're going to be forced to tell her at some point." Julia exclaimed.

"I know, I know. The thing is, I have no idea how she will react. Will she freak out? Will she be happy? Or will she send me to a mental institute? I just don't know." Eric said with dismay. Then he looked at the pokeball in his hand, then at Julia. He stood, up and prepared to throw it at her. But she looked straight at his eyes, and he lost all the will to throw the ball. He just couldn't condemm her to the little ball. He threw it at the wall, breaking it.

"Why did you do that, now you can't catch me," she exclaimed, " you missed out on your chance to catch your first pokemon."

"I'm fully aware of that. It's just, when you looked at me, I lost all will to continue with the capture I couldn't trap you in that ball."Eric said, confused.

*I guess he might be the one after all,* Julia thought.

"So, what do you like to eat? You must be tired of that hospital food." Eric questioned.

"What? Oh yeah. I like berries, I guess, but if you don't have any, I'll eat something else." Julia said hungrily.

"Sorry, but we have never had a pokemon here before, so I don't think we have any berries. But we can check the kitchen." as they walked down stairs, Julia kept thinking about how Eric broke the pokeball. That was the nicest thing any human has ever done for her. When they reached the kitchen, Julia dug through the fridge until she found a box of oran berries, which she took to the couch and started to eat from happily. "Huh, I guess we had some berries after all. Enjoy them."

The doorbell rung. "I'll get it." he opened the door, and was instantly tackled by Maddie.

"Hey, what's up Eric? I heard you finally got a pokemon!"

"Yes, It's the pikachu from the hospital. She wanted to come back with me."

"Cool. Where's her pokeball?" she said while scanning the room for it.

"I, uh, kind of, broke it." he said.

"What? why?" she questioned.

"I just couldn't trap her in that little ball." he said, his head hanging low. The room was silent for several moments.

"Whatever works for you. You want to battle?"

"Only if Julia will consent."

"You named her Julia? That's a wonderful name."

"Well girl, do you want to battle?"

Julia just looked at him for a minute, then said yes. Eric cringed, then remembered that only he could understand her. "Nod," he wispered, and she did. "Well, she's into it, so let's go outside." Julia hopped on Eric's shoulder, and they walked outside. "How are we going to do this? Can I just yell commands at you?"

"Alright, just don't get carried away."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sorry if I don't get all of the moves in this chapter correct. Onward with the story!

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"Do we need a referee?" Eric said while inventing battle strategies in his head.

"Nah, this isn't a wager battle, it's just for fun, so we can just govern it ourselves." she said, flipping her white hair around. "Ready, go! Cole, use tackle!"

Eric reacted quickly, telling Julia to dodge, then telling her to use thundershock.

"Well, bringing out the tough moves, huh? Well two can play at that game! Pikachu, use thundershock!" The two bolt collided, and the resulting explosion of electricity knocked everyone flat on their backs.

"Well I guess that's game, considering none of us acctually hit each other, and both pikachus are unconcious."

"Yep, it's a tie. Let's get these two to the pokemon center."

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Both were sitting there in the lobby waiting for their pokemon to heal. One they finished, they walked home. "Would you like to know where I got Cole's name?"

"Actually, I've been wondering about that since you told me it. How?"

"Well, I, uh, nevermind. You'll just think i'm crazy." she said, blushing.

"Trust me, I won't. Not with what's been going on in my life lately. Tell me."

"Fine. Truth is, He told me."

"Wait, what? Does that mean you can understand pokemon?" *So she's just like me. I thought I was alone in this.* "Would you like to know how I named Julia?

"Sure, why not."

"The same way you named Cole." Maddie looked absolutely astonished.

"So, we can both understand pokemon. How weird."

"Well, now that we've got that cleared up, Cole and I have something to say when we get home. It's a matter of utmost importance." Julia said with a serious look on her face.

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"Well, what is it you two wanted to say?" Eric said, leaning on his elbows.

"Do you want to tell them, or should I?" Julia asked Cole. Cole just gestured toward her, sybolically telling her to say what they needed to. "Fine then, i'll do it. Eric, I have been keeping a huga secret from you since you rescued me. Maddie, Cole has been doing the same thing. Are you mad at us?"

"I think I speak for both Maddie and I when I say we don't care. Everyone has secrets, Right Maddie?" she nodded.

"Well, we have decided to tell you, but only if you wish to know." before Eric could say yes, Julia's paw was covering his mouth. She had covered the space between them in half a second. Eric's eyes widened. "Before you accept, I want you to know that what I am about to say will alter your life in more ways than one. Do you still want to know?" Eric looked at Maddie, Looked back, and both nodded in unison. "Fine then. You two meeting us was no coincedence. We planned it. The both of us are part of a secret, anceint organization. This group is known as the Knights of Arceus. Also, everyone who has ever been a knight has had the ability to speak to pokemon. We were sent on a quest to locate more people with this trait once we detected the life energy of two others who can do this. These two energies were yours. You are to join the Knights."

"Uh... Wow. This is a lot to take in at once. Do we have a choice?"

"Of course. But make it quick. We need to report to the council. We have been gone for three years, you know."

"Okay then. Will you two please leave the room? We need to talk things out." the two pikachus left the room, and Eric immediately said, "I think we should go, but I think it will be hard to explain to our parents."

"Me too. God, that was an easy decision. I expected some long, dreary conversation. Cole, Julia, get back in here!"

"You have decided?"

"Yes, we will go. But how do we tell our parents?"

"You will feed them a special pill that will make them think you were sent to the trainer's school in Hoenn. Now, gather what you cannot live without, quickly!" Julia had that serious look on her face again. Eric began packing, and Maddie ran home to do the same. One hour later, they met up in Eric's front yard. "I would try to memorize as much of this house as you can, because there is a good chance you will never set foot in it again. Are you both ready to depart?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"Then let's move." she took out four gray squares from her backpack. *What the heck are those?* both Eric and Maddie wondered. "Everyone take a square, then press the button on the back." when they did so, the squares expanded to the point where Eric and Maddie could stand on them, while the two pikachus boards were much smaller. "Get on," Julia instructed. As soon as the two kids stepped on their boards, there feet were tied down by whatever material the board was made of.

"Cool," was all Eric was able to say.

"Hold on tight!"

Before Maddie was able to ask why, the board sped foward, gaining in speed exponentially by the second.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me it did this!" Eric shouted at Julia.

"Because then you wouldn't have gotten on. Look were almost there!" They were fast approaching Mt. Coronet. Both Eric and Maddie started screaming, out of fear that they were going to fast, and wouldn't be able to stop. The boards kept speeding along.

"Stop this thing! We're gonna crash!" Maddie was in panic. As soon as they were within three feet of the mountain's base, the boards halted. Their feet were released from the boards then they reverted to the squares.

"Keep them. You'll need them." Julian said. "Cole, if you would." Cole nodded, then walked over to the wall, and spoke in words that neither human could understand. A glowing symbol depicting the moon appeared on the wall. Then the wall turned into a door. "Well, come along."

As the group walked down the tunnel, Eric and Maddie could not help but question what just happened. "Can you guys teach us how to open that door too?"

"In time, Eric, in time. But for now, you must be iniciated into the Knights of Arceus. Ah, here we are now. Behold, the Room of Trails!"

Hey guys, it's me, Labyrinth of Lies. Yeah I know this fanfic might be a little fast in the front of storyline, but it's still good, right? I'm gonna do a little interview section with the characters in some chapter, so if you have any questions you want in that part, leave them in the review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hey, i'm back. Sorry for how long it took to update. The indents at the beggining of paragraphs are a little shorter this time, not that you care about that. Onward with the fic!

"Behold, the Room of Trials!" Cole said dramatically. "This is where we will determine what sort of knight you will be. It will judge your past, your thoughts, and your your emotions. Eric, you will go first."

"Okay, but what do I do?"

"You will know when the process begins. Step on the pedestal." Eric walked to the center of the room. When he reached the pedestal, his first impluse was to look up. When he did, he noticed a giant, snow white crystal. He closed his eyes, doing every thing on impulse. A white, translucent beam shot down on Eric, lifting him into the air.

"What's it doing to him?" Maddie asked curiously.

"Judging him. This will determine what kind of knight he will be, as we have already informed you." Julia said.

Eric's mind was speeding past several screens, all showing different times in his life. After he had gone by the most recent memories, A voice spoke.

"You are the next edition to the Knights if Arceus. Because of the incredible amount of bravery you posess, you will join the Knights of Combat. Now, go!" Eric fell to the ground, panting. He regained his composure, and walked back to the group.

"Apparently i'm supposed to be a "Knight of Combat", whatever that is."

"This is good. It means you will be a fighter. You will learn to use a sword, bow, or claws. Maddie, it's your turn. Your process will be the same."

"Okay." she walked over and stepped on the pedestal. She looked up, and the light shot down on her and began to view her momeries.

"You are the next edition to the Knights of Arceus. Because of the caring nature, large amounts of willpower and heavy desire to help others, you will join the Knights of Clericy. Now, go!" she walked back to the group.

"I was told i'm going to be a "Knight of Clericy". What does that mean?"

"Nice. You are going to be a spellcaster who primarily uses healing spells. And by the way, I'm in the same class as you." Julia said.

"And i'm in the same one as you, Eric. Lets go to the areas where you will be trained. Eric, you come with me. Maddie, you go with Julia."

As the two groups parted, the two humans could not help but wonder what was ahead of them. Why do these knights exist, and what do they fight?

-Eric's training

"We're here." the two walked into a room full of full-grown men who were hitting dummies with fake swords. "This is where you will recieve your training.

Eric pointed to a sword hung on the wall. "What's that?" he asked.

"That is the Sword of Arceus. There is one for every category of Knight, except, for example, the artifact of Arceus would be a staff for the Clerics. The thing is, those weapons are very powerful, but only the chosen heros can weild them."

"Cool. Can I try?"

"No. We don't know which weapon you will use. Then you will see if you can weild the artifact. Let's go see where you will sleep." They walked down a hallway labled living quarters. "You will have three room mates, and the new additions bunk together, so you will be bunking with Maddie, and the two other editions. Their names are Leonardo and Heather. Time for you to meet them. You four will see if you can weild the Artifacts of Arceus tommorrow." they headed off toward the dorm.

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Eric walked into the dorm, and also into Maddie's welcoming arms.

"Hi Eric! Welcome to the dorm, meet Leo and Heather! They can talk to pokemon just like us!" Heather was a girl with black hair and brown eyes. She was a somewhat small person. Leo was a very tall person with blond hair and hazel eyes.

"Hey, are you two twins or something? You look pretty similar." Heather said.

"Nope, just a coincedence. We are related in no way." Eric said. So where are you two from?"

"Well i'm from Twinleaf town, and Leo over there is from Celestic town. We're both twelve. Maddie already told us where you're from." Heather said, fiddling with her hair. "By the way, which of the two groups were you out in? Maddie already told us she was a cleric."

"I'm a combat knight. How about you two?"

"The both of us are also combat knights. And speaking of combat, do you know what we fight, exactly? I have no idea what it is."

"No. Neither if us were informed of that. Well, it looks like it's getting late. Goodnight everybody."

Hey i'm back everybody! It looks like this story is coming along nicely, and incase any of you are wondering when the romance part is coming, just wait and see. Though it's not mature sexual content. The M is for blood in future chapters. I guess i forgot to mention that. Bye.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hey what's up everybody. I'm suprised i have so many veiws. I mean this is my first fic! Well on with the story.

Eric woke up that morning to find he was the first to do so. He got up, wondering where he could get some food, and then realized this was practically an apartment, so there was a kitchen too. He walked into said kitchen, and checked the Fridge foor food. There it was, a pre-made sandwich that had a note on it. It read: Dear Eric, I made this sandwich for you last night because Maddie told me that you can't cook. From, Leo. He took it out of the fridge, sat down at the table, and took a bite. *Man, I don't know what's in this sandwich, but it's amazing.* He finished the sandwich quickly, and washed the plate. He set it out to dry, and sat down on the couch. *What do I do now?*

"Did you like the sandwich I made?" Leo said, scaring the crap out of Eric.

"Woah, Leo, you are so quiet on your feet! You scared the life out of me. Good sandwich though. I had no idea you were such a good cook."

"Yeah, I used to work as a cook in the resturant my family owned. So, what weapon do you hope to weild?" he said, changing the subject quickly. "I want to be an archer. It would suit me."

"Well, I guess I want to be a swordsman. I don't really have a reason for it. Do you know what Heather wants to use?"

"She told me she wants to weild the claws. I think it suits her. She has a kind of cat-like appearance."

"Isn't it strange that the four new members want to weild the four different types of tool?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it." Leo said.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" said Heather while walking into the room holding an apple. Before anyone could answer, she said, "So when do we get to see if we can weild the artifacts?"

"About twenty minutes. We should wake Maddie. Hey, Maddie!" Eric shouted.

She fell out of bed, then sat up. "What the hell was that for!"

"We have to go soon. I figured you wanted to look presentable."

"Yeah I do. And you're coming with me, because you never brush your hair, and I want to make it look good!" she grabbed his arm, and pulled him into the bathroom/closet. He mouthed "help me" then was gone. About ten minutes later, the two walked out, and Maddie was wearing an elegant white dress and Eric's hair was combed. "I finally got his hair untangled. It was a mess."

"Well, what do we do until they come get us?" Heather said.

"I don't know. Lets just chat." Leo said.

-At The Hall of Origin

"I would like to be present at today's artifact trials. I have an unusual feeling about it this time." said Arceus.

"As you wish, master Arceus. I shall inform the council." said his attendant.

-Back at the Dorm

"Eric, Madeline, Heather and Leonardo, it's time to see if you can weild the Artifacts of Arceus. Come with me." The four walked down the hallway to the Room of Trials. When the got there, the four weapons were displayed, and the council of elders. Even the mighty Arceus had come to witness this trial.

"This is to be the 467th trial of the Artifacts of Arceus. Here is how we will know if the tool has chosen you. The weapons will react with a glow. Now, choose your preffered weapon. Except you, Madeline, you will pick up the staff." Leo walked to the bow, Heather to the claws, Eric to the sword, and Maddie to the staff. They picked all of the weapons up simeltaneously. All at once the weapons began to emit a blue light. The four children were absolutely dumbfounded. They had been chosen by the legendary Artifacts of Arceus.

"Unbeleivable! All four of the weapons have chosen at once!" The oldest councilman said.

"Yes, they have indeed. There is something very special about these kids." Arceus said.

The kids just stood there staring at their new weapons. "What do we do now?" Eric said to the council.

"You will learn to use the Artifacts. These weapons all have special capabilities beyond that of a regular sword. No one knows what they are, except for Arceus, but he refuses to reveal them. Now, go to the training halls for your weapons category. I'm positive that the other knights will be happy to meet their chosen ones."

Hey everybody, i'm back. Kind of a predictable chapter, huh? Well see you next time!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Hey guys. Sorry if i haven't explained anything enough. You might see what you are looking for here. To the fic!

-Eric's training

As Eric walked down the hall to the training center, he noticed a piplup shooting a bubblebeam at a dummy.

"Hey, how do the pokemon knights join? Is there some sort of special requirement?" Eric said to the knight.

"No, any pokemon can join the Knights as long as their hearts are pure, but any humans who join us require the ability to understand pokespeak."

"Okay then. By the way, why do those two pikachus, Julia and Cole, have human names?"

"Ah, that is a tragic story indeed. We were on a mission, and we found these two pikachus, still eggs at that point, next to two dead raichus. They had been brutally murders by the enemies we destroy. So we took them back the Mt. Cornet., and when they hatched, we gave them human names. But they still don't know what happened, so do not inform them.

"How sad. By the way, what do we fight?" Eric was curious about this subject.

"They still have not told you? Thousands of years ago, two pokemon mated, and produced something that was certainly not a pokemon. It was a mutant. It killed it's parents, and fled into the night. It wasn't tracable. Years later three similar mutants attacked a group of travelers in the wild. They were killed in seconds. The creatures began to reproduce and create different types of mutants. They eventually evolved to the point where they devoloped powers of invisibility. Only certain types of people could see them, the ones who can speak to pokemon. They have a second gift. They can see through their power. This camoflauge doesn't affect pokemon. That was when Arceus descended from the heavens, and formed the knights."

"How long have you personally been doing this?"

"2762 years."

Eric's eyes widened. "How are you that old?"

"Another thing they haven't told you. When someone becomes a knight, they are granted eternal life. You stopped aging the moment you took that sword."

Eric looked at the sword in his hands. *I'm going to live forever? This is going to be one hell of a ride.* they walked into a large room with a sword rack. Eric assumed this was the training room.

"Behold," the knight said to the others, "The chosen knight!" Eric felt extremely akward with everyone looking at him. He expected them to be mad. Instead, loud cheering filled the chamber. "Long live the chosen one!" filled the chamber. They eventually quited down.

"This boy's name is Eric. He is tge youngest knight in history. And he will train with us. And by the way, the other three artifacts also chose. You may return to your training."

The two walked down to the end of the room, where they entered a door. Inside Eric witnessed a man cut the heads off five dummies in three seconds. He walked over to Eric, and looked him in the eye. "Why the hell is this kid in my chamber?" he said to the knight.

"He was chosen by the sword, sir. He needs to learn how to weild it." the knight replied.

"Well then, get out of here so I can train him." the knight walked out if the room. "So you are the chosen one, huh? I expected more."

"Hey! Why are you insulting me! I never did anything to you!"

"I do this to all of my pupils. It's called tough love. Get over it."

"Fine. What do we do first?"

"Just take a swing at that dummy over there. It's armor is impervious, so you can't break it." Eric took his sword out of it's scabbard, and charged at the dummy. He hit the armor as hard as he possibly could. It absorbed all of the impact, and jarred the sword out of his hands. His arms hurt.

"You didn't tell me it would hurt so much!" Eric said, in pain.

"I believe in learning by experience. And since I have not told you my name, you will know that my name is Xavier. Now hit it once more. You will hit the dummy until you no longer drop the sword on impact. I will leave you to it. Goodbye." Eric struck the dummy again, and dropped the sword again.

"Damn it! How the fuck do I do this!" but he just kept swinging.

Kind of a weird chapter huh? These are the chapters where i'm going to show how the four heroes get their training. Bye!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

-Maddie's training

"So, how am I supposed to use this staff if i don't know any spells?" Maddie said.

"You will learn some spells in time. But first I must train you. I will be your mentor. My name is Kaitlin." the female cleric said.

"And mine is Madeline, but please call me Maddie."

"As you wish. Before we begin your training, you will be taken to the practice hall, where you will be able to see expert spellcasters at work. Come along." the two walked down the hall that opened into a large room, where Maddie could see many men and women casting combat or healing spells on dummies. Kaitlin walked over to the line of dummies, got her staff out of it's harness on her back, and focused on the dummy. After about five seconds of focus, she yelled, "Death's fireball!" and a skull-shaped firball appeared at the tip of her staff, she swung it in the direction of the dummy. The skull struck the dummy, and the doll was incinerated. "And that, my dear pupil, is how you use a staff.

"Can I try that spell?" Maddie said hopefully.

"No. That was a master level spell. It will take years for you to learn that spell. You will pick your first begginer spell. Now, would you like a combat or healing spell?"

"I'll take combat please."

"Okay. Now, you must pick the element that you will use. In most clerics, they must use a certain element in their staffs. They can still use healing spells, though. But with the artifact you possess, that could change. The four elements you can pick from are fire, water, earth, and air." (I know they are the elements from avatar.)

"I guess i'll take fire. I want to be able to use the death's fireball someday."

"Excelent choice. Now, this is a minor fireball spell. It is only ment to inflict small damage to the enemy, but it's a good starter. This is it's tome. You must read it from cover to cover, and if you skim over anything, this spell could go horribly wrong. I will be practicing my spells. Come get me when you are ready." she walked off to the next dummy.

"I have to read this whole thing? That could take hours. Well, I guess I have no choice." she sat in the chair nearest to her, and began to read.

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"Kaitlin! I finished the book! I think I can cast it now." she said, running toward her.

"Already? That was fast. I guess what's done is done. Try to cast it this dummy."

"Okay." she took her staff in hand, and began to focus. About ten seconds later, she shouted, "Fireball!" a fireball formed on the end of her staff. She swung her staff, but the fireball fizzled out three feet from the staff. "Awww. That was anticlimactic."

"That was good for a first try. Keep going. You will keep using this spell. By the way, I think we should tell the other clerics that we have our chosen one."

"No please, I don't like atten-" she was cut off by Kaitlin.

"Behold, clerics! The chosen one has been bestowed upon us! She weilds the Staff of Arceus!" The room erupted with cheers. A few of the clerics shot fireworks from their staffs. They exploded in the air to form the words "Praise Arceus!"

"Wow. I didn't know this was such a big deal." Maddie said, blushing.

"Of course it is. We have been waiting for the chosen ones for centuries. Me personally for over 3000 years."

"What? No one lives that long!" Maddie said.

"Didn't you know that you stop aging the second you get a weapon? You will be twelve forever, so get used to it."

"What? Does that mean that I won't have to go through puberty?"

"No. Your regular life uccurences will still happen. You will even be able to bear children in a few more years."

"Damn. I thought I wouldn't have to go through that. Oh well." by now the cheering had stopped, and every one had gone back to practicing. Maddie had gone back to trying to master the fireball spell, And all was calm in the hall of clericy.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

-Leo's training

"So, I imagine the first thing I have to do is see if I can hit a target." Leo said to the knight.

"You assume correctly."

"Good. I already have some experience in archery, so-"

"Already know how to shoot a bow, huh? Then we'll have to make it harder for you." the two walked into the practice range, where many archers were shooting targets. They walked over to a man who was busy knock six arrows at once, and then firing. All of the arrows hit their goal.

"Cameron, sir, the new recruit is here for training. He says he already knows how to shoot a bow, so I guess we have to make it harder for him. And by the way, he's the chosen one."

"Already able to shoot?" the fact that Leo was the chosen one didn't phase him at all. "Well then, let's see if you're telling the truth. Use your artifact and these arrows to shoot at the target."

Leo walked up to the target, took an arrow in his right hand and his bow in his left. He walked to the firing platform, drew the arrow back on the bow's string, then took a deep breath. He let the arrow fly. It spiraled toward the target, and hit it dead center. He turned around toward Cameron, and grinned, saying, "You didn't see that coming, did you."

"Nice shot, kid. Now let's up the difficulty of the next shot. The target will be smaller this time. Are you ready?"

"Yes. Set it up." he took another arrow off of the pile. Cameron walked to the target and cut of most of the rim with his knife. *What a waste,* Leo thought. He walked back and instructed leo to shoot. He let the arrow go, but it only grazed the edge."Damn it! The smaller target must be throwing me off. It's phyching me out."

"That's probably it. I'm going to go eat lunch. I expect you to be able to hit that target by the time I get back. Goodbye." he walked off, and Leo began shooting.

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"Are you done yet?" Cameron said while peeking his head around the corner.

"Does this answer your question?" he turned around and shot an arrow into the center of the target.

"Very good. Now you will-"

"Hold on." he said, then fired another arrow. This arrow hit the base of the last, and split it's shaft. "Okay, now what?"

"You will start to train with moving targets. I will set them up. He pushed a button on the table next to him, and four targets popped out of slots on the ground. Leo tried to fire at one, but missed by quite a bit. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have something to attend to." he walked a few feet, then yelled, "The chosen archer has been selected!" This caused Leo to miss his shot by even more than last time. The room filled with cheering. After that had settled down, he took another shot. He hit one this time, but only on the very edge.

"Yes!" he shouted, because that was the first time he has hit the moving target, and he was happy. It was given that he was lacking in confidence when he started missing, but this gave him the boost he needed. He shot another arrow at the same target, and hit it closer to the center.

"Very good. I didn't think you would be doing this well this early on. I brought you a sandwich, would you like to have lunch?"

"Yes please. I'm famished." He sat down at the little table that was a feet away from the shooting platform, and begin to eat. "So, how excited are you people about the coming of the chosen ones? I understand that it must be a pretty big deal, but why so big?"

"We have been waiting for the chosen one for many centuries. I have been waiting less than most. About 2500 years, I would guess."

"Wow. So you knights must be granted eternal life, huh? By the way, I really have no idea how I deduced that. And also, when will I stop aging?"

"You already have, when you picked up that bow. Knights become immortal when they are granted a weapon."

"Cool." he finished his sandwich, and went back to shooting.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Heather was walking down the hallway, her claws in hand. She was swinging them around lightly. "So all I have to do to fight with these, is swing them at things?"

"It's a little more in depth than that. You need techniques. That is what I'm here to teach you." the female knight next to her said. "My name is Catherine. I will be your mentor."

"Cool. What do I do first?"

"Well, first we have to get to the training hall. And here we are." they stepped into a large room where many men and women were slashing at dummies. "Now, let me show you one of the most basic techniques." she put on her claws walked over to the dummy, slashed it with her right hand, then her left, then delivered a swift uppercut to the dummy's face. "Do you think you can do that?"

"I think so." she walked over to the dummy, and threw her right hand at it, and hit. Then she threw her left. She only grazed it. "Damn. How could I miss that?" she tried again. She struck with her right hand, then her left, then knocked the dummy's head off with the uppercut. "What's next?"

"That's it. Just keep practicing that. You have all of eternity to master it anyway."

"What? All of eternity? What does that mean?"

"It means that you're immortal. The second you picked up that weapon, you stopped aging."

"Cool, I don't have to go through puberty!"

"No, you still have to. The regular body occurences will still happen, but your appearance will never change. You will even still be able to bear children."

"Shit. Wait, how old are you?"

"About 2000 years old. Younger than most in this place."

"Woah. By the way, have you told everyone here about me being the chosen hero?"

"No, so why don't we go up to the pedestal at the end of the room, and we can do so." they walked to said pedestal, and Catherine yelled out, "Behold, the chosen claw weilder has been chosen! Praise Arceus!"

"Praise Arceus!" filled the chamber. Heather stood there, basking in her glory.

"Is this really that important?" she said.

"Of course. We have been waiting for the coming of the heroes for many mellenia."

"Sweet. I'm famous."

"In a sense. But why don't you go back to practice."

"Fine." and she went back to striking the dummy.

sorry for the short chapter. I couldn't think. Bye!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Wow. We're finally done with those training chapters. I may do a few time skips, so watch out for them.

The four kids entered their dorm at the same time. All were feeling extremely sore, Except for Maddie. "I don't think I can move anymore. My sword arm is numb." Eric said.

"My fingers are so cut up from pulling the bow's string all day. I can't bend them." Leo said.

"My arms are sore from swinging my claws all day." Heather said.

"What are you four whining about? I'm perfectly fine. I can even cast a spell by now."

"Well, what is the spell?" Eric asked.

"A little fireball. Nothing much. Why don't I light a fire?" she held her staff up, yelled "Fireball!" then pointed at it the firplace. The ball of fire hit the wood and it caught fire. "Yes!"

"Cool. Do you think you can cook dinner? None of us can move." Heather said.

"Fine. I'll make a stew." she went to work in the kitchen, throwing in meats and vegetables, as well as spices. 30 minutes later, she walked out with a tray of bowls. The four all took a bite simeltaneously, and all of them did a spit take.

"That was awful. Leave the cooking to me from here on out." Leo said. He got up, and began to cook a stew of his own. 15 minutes later, they came back with a stew of his own. The four took a bite, then began to eat hungrily. Within 10 minutes, the stew was gone. "So how was it?"

"It was amazing! I had no idea there was food that good!" Maddie said.

"Well, now that we've eaten, I guess we should find a way to entertain ourselves." Eric said.

"We should play truth or dare. I used to play it all the time." Heather said.

"Fine." the other three said in unison. They got in a circle.

"I'll start. Maddie, truth or dare." Heather said.

"Truth." Maddie said.

"Have you ever had a crush on someone?"

"Yes," she said, blushing. She glanced over at Eric, then looked at the floor. "Now you, Heather. Truth or dare."

"Dare."

"Big mistake. I dare you to eat a whole bowl of my soup."

"Shit. Bottoms up!" she said, taking the bowl in hand a practically swallowing it.

"Now me. Leo, truth or dare." Eric said.

"Truth."

"Have you ever had a girlfreind?"

"Nope. Now Eric, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to dye your hair brown."

"Fine, but how do we get some dye?"

"I have some. I brought it with me when we were packing." she went to get the dye. She came back, and rubbed it into Eric's hair. His hair was now brown.

"Wow, look at you! You look hilarious!" Heather was on the ground laughing.

"Laugh at it while you can, because whenever i've tried to dye my hair in the past, it never sticks." Eric said. "Besides, this was a stupid idea. Let's go to bed." the four took their leave.

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The next morning, Eric's hair was back to white. "Told you." he said. Then he noticed an envelope on the floor next to the door. "Hey guys, look. We got mail." he opened it and read it aloud. "Dear Eric, Maddie, Leo and Heather: we sent this letter to tell you that we have trained you enough, and we have decided to provide you with some information. This society has a farmer's market, where you must buy food. You have been provided with food so far because you have not been able to take jobs, which are compensated for with the currency here, which is tokens. You are cleared to take minor quests. Have a good time! From Xavier, Kaitlin, Cameron and Catherine."

"Wait, we have to work? This sucks!" Heather said.

"Wait, there's more. By the way, you will have to select a Swordsman, Cleric, Archer, Claw weilder, and two pokemon before you go. I think the four of us, and the two pikachus, Julia and Cole should be a squad." they all agreed. They set off to find the two pikachus. They found them shocking a dummy in the training hall. "Hey guys. Long time, no see."

"What? Oh, hello Eric. It has been a while. And you got a sword. Wait, is that-" Julia looked at the artifact.

"Oh yeah, and we're the chosen ones. How could I forget to mention that? And Maddie, Leo and Heather are also chosen."

"Wow. All four chosen ones at once. This is a great day." Cole said.

"So we came to ask you to be part of our squad for our first job." Maddie said.

"Yes! Like we could refuse the chosen ones!" Julia said.

They headed to the job board, and found one that said to clear out the mutants at Eterna forest. Then they headed out on their first quest.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The six knights walked out of the mountain for the first time in a few days. They were blinded by the sunlight. They were used to torchlight, after all.

"Damn, that's bright. Wish I had sunglasses." Heather said while sheilding her eyes

"Ditto." the other five said. They began to walk toward their destination.

"Julia, do we have to go everywhere on foot?" Maddie said in complantive tone.

"Yes, unless you've been there before. The boards that Cole and I gave you can go wherever they have been before."

"Dang it. I was hoping we could skip the travel. " Maddie said.

"Nope. It's a giant pain in the ass." said Cole.

"So how long until we get to Eterna forest?" Leo asked.

"About three days on foot." Julia said.

"Well that's far. We brought the neccesary amount of food, right?" Leo asked Eric.

"I think so, but if we run out, we can always forage. Right, Cole?"

"Yep. But you'll need a lesson. Foraging isn't taught to knights." Cole said.

"More lessons?" Maddie said.

"Speaking of lessons, don't you think your mentors sent you on your first mission pretty quickly? I mean, you only had one day of training!" Julia said.

"Now that you mention it, we do seem undertrained. Is there any way we can communicate with them?" Eric said.

"Yes, and we'll show you tonight." Julia said.

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"Let's set up camp there." Julia said, pointing to a clearing several feet away. They set up a five person tent, which was just big enough for the group, and Maddie lit a small fire with magic, then sat down and began reading a tome. Next to her was a whole pile of them.

"Another fire spell?" Heather asked.

"No, this is my first healing spell book, which I just finished. Does anyone have any injuries I can try it on?"

"I have a little cut on my finger." Leo said.

"Okay. Let me try." she walked over and held her staff over Leo's cut. "Heal!" she shouted, and Leo's cut closed. "Yes! First try!"

"Nice job. By the way, why do have so many tomes?" Leo asked.

"I took them from storage. The're all different elements. I just wanted to see if i could use them after I picked fire."

"The little innocent girl, a theif? What a surprise." Heather said.

"What, like you're an angel." Maddie said.

"I didn't say that. I was kind of a kleptomaniac back in Twinleaf." Heather said, giving the her a thumbs up.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. I kind of expected something like that from you." Maddie said.

"Before I forget, Didn't you say we could communicate with our mentors?" Eric said to Julia.

"Yes. It's called mirror com. Look at this." she took out a small mirror from her backpack and wrote Xavier's name on it. Ten seconds later, Xaveir's face appeared in the mirror. "Who is this? Oh hi Julia. What do you need?"

"Eric just wanted to talk to you."

"Well, put him on then." Julia handed the mirror to Eric.

"Hey, Xavier. Why did you send us out after only one day of training? We barely know anything."

"The other mentors and I were given orders from Arceus to do so. We were told not to tell you, but you caught the detail pretty quickly."

"Why would he do that?" Eric asked.

"No one knows. Bye!" the mirror went back to relfecting.

"It appears Arceus told them to send us out. They don't know why." Eric said to the others.

"It probably has something to do with us being chosen." Leo said.

"Anyway, I don't know about you guy's but i'm going to do some late night training. Catherine gave me this sweet little box that unfolds into an indestructible dummy. She gave me some for you guys, too. Here you go." she tossed three boxes their way. They pressed the buttons on the tops, and they opened up. Eric took a swing at the dummy with his artifact, and it didn't leave a dent.

"How do these knights think of this stuff?" Eric said.

"Beats me," Maddie said, and casted a fireball at it, "But it's cool."

The group practiced late into the night, then went to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I'm sorry that it took so long to update. You see, my dog, Maggie, whom i've known longer than my own brother, passed away recently. So, i'm dedicating the rest of this story to her. May she rest in peace.

"Slept like a rock." Heather said, stretching. She expected to be the first one up, but she was the last. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Yeah. It's sausages and eggs, so dig in. I made plenty." Leo said, and handed a plate to Heather.

"Thanks." She took a bite, and when she was done chewing, said, "Wow, this is amazing! How do you do this everytime you cook!"

"As i've told you before, I used to cook at my parent's resturant. I have experience."

"But still, this is better than any food i've ever had." Eric said. The four finished their meals, and packed up the camp.

"Two more days untill our first fight. I'm stoked." Heather said, then slashed a tree.

"You know this isn't like training. You can die.

"I know, but I want to test myself."

They came to a road where they noticed a group of trainers and their pokemom walking down the road. "Get down!" Julia hissed. They ducked into the bushes.

"What's wrong?" Maddie asked. "Are they the bad guys?"

"No, but how would you react to four kids walking around with weapons?"

"Good point. Let's wait until they pass." Eric said. A few moments later, they all were out of sight. "I just realized something. Will I ever see my mom again?"

"Unlikely. It will be hard to explain why you haven't aged in the time you were gone." Cole said. "Besides, she still thinks you're at the trainer's school. But sadly, in a few years, the capsule will wear off. She will immediatly know that you have been gone for years."

"Then what will happen?"

"You will need to go back and tell her. Every knight has gone through this."

"That will be a ride through hell. How do I go through that?"

"Everyone has their own way. But the thing is, she will be greif stricken, because when the pill wears off, it will be as if it had never been administered. The rest off you will also have to do this. Understood?" everyone nodded, and they continued.

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Maddie had her tomes out again. "Can you use any other elemental spells?" Leo asked.

"I don't know. Let me see." she lifted her staff and pointed it at a tree, and shouted "Air blast!" nothing happened. "I guess not, but i'm still going to read the tomes, for academic reasons."

"Fine by me. What's for dinner?" Eric asked Leo.

"Dry pork. I don't fell like cooking tonight."

"Dang. I love your food. Guess i'll do without." Heather said, digging in to her pork. In a few minutes, the four had finished their pork, and the two pikachus their berries.

"It is time we show you a spell, Maddie, that will allow you to spar without taking damage. But beware, it is only designed to take hits from other knight's weapons, not the mutants attacks."

"None the less, cool. What is it?"

"Repeat after me. Knight's protection, Maddie."

"Knight's protection, Maddie." a soft blue light enveloped Maddie, then dissapeared.

"Now, Eric, give me your sword." said Cole. Eric handed his artifact to Cole. Cole took it in hand, and swung it at Maddie. It hit her, but she felt nothing. The sword hadn't left a mark.

"Wicked cool. Now me." Heather said. She repeated the spell on all four of them. They were protected. "Now we fight. Eric, you're with me. Leo and Maddie, you fight." the four all assumed the ready stance. It took Leo about half of a second to knock an arrow and shoot it at Maddie. It struck her square in the chest.

"Damn it. Rematch?"

"Fine." meanwhile, Eric and Heather were battling. Eric swung at her side, and she blocked it with the back of her claw. She then launced a swift uppercut at Eric's stomach. He dodged, spun around, and struck her back.

"You win. How are Leo Maddie doing?" they turned to see Maddie fire a fireball directly at Leo's head. It hit him, and he fell from surprise.

"Nice shot." he said, getting up. "You win. What now?"

"You rest. Me and Cole have been sparring, and we are tired from using our electric attacks. We are about to do the same." Julia said, stretching.

"Okay." the four said. So they slept their second night in their journey.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I think i might make my chapters longer from now on. On with the fic!

"Is everybody ready to go?" Julia asked. They nodded, then began to walk. "We should reach the forest by the middle of the day. Then you will fight. I suggest we develop a strategy for the fight. And before we start, we must remember that there will be different types of mutants."

"I suggest that Heather and I take on the ranged ones. They can't hurt us. When we get close enough to strike." Eric said.

"Agreed. And if Leo and I take on the melee ones, they won't get close enough to hurt us."

"Then the strategy is set. Cole and I will attack any mutant that gets to close."

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At about noon, they reached Eterna forest. "Here we are. It's time to kick some ass." Eric said.

"Again, you really shouldn't be this eager. There is a high risk to what we do." Julia said.

"I'm aware, but our weapons have hidden abilities, which I guess will be unnlocked during combat. I just want to be stronger."

"I understand your ambitions, and both Cole and I went through the same thing. After years of training, our thundershocks and such moves have become stronger. Strong enough to kill. But you must not overexert yourselves. Understood?" they nodded, and continued into the forest. After about ten minutes, they spotted a pikachu-like creature, except for the fact that it's fur was not yellow, it was, in fact, black as night. It had teeth that poked past it's lips, and a tail with spikes on it. It was eating another pokemon.

"That's freaking disgusting. I got it." Leo knocked an arrow, and shot it at the mutant. At the last second, it looked up, and the arrow hit it right between the eyes. "Yes!" he was happy for a only a few seconds. An identical mutant appeared and hit him in the back of the knee with it's tail. "Fuck!" he cried, then collapsed. Eric turned and cut the creature's head off. Blood began to pool around the creature's severed head and body, as well as Leo's bleeding leg.

"Hold on Leo!" Maddie said, and pointed her staff at Leo's wound. "Heal!" the wound closed, but it still hurt like hell to Leo.

"I can't feel my leg. I think it's broken." Leo said with a pained expression.

"I know it hurts, but I can only numb the pain. Just sit still and defend your self."

"Let's go look for more mutants. I think I saw one over there." Eric said.

"And Cole and I will go on our own." Julia said.

"Okay. I'll just sit here." he leaned against a tree, and the others walked off into the woods.

*Well this sucks. Stuck here while my friends go hunting for mutants. Guess I just don't get to fight today.* he felt something rub against his leg, and he readied an arrow, and pointed it at the disturbance. It was just a budew, now scared out of it's mind. "Sorry little guy, I didn't mean to scare you. We're hunting the mutant pokemon that are in these woods."

"Y-you are?" it had a high pitched voice. Leo gathered that it was a boy.

"Yep. Have you seen any besides the pikachu-looking ones?"

"Y-yes. Follow me." tears were forming in the budew's eyes, though Leo didn't know why. The budew walked off, and Leo stoof up and followed it, regardless of the pain. Soon, they arrived at a small cave. It was soaked in blood. The bodies of two roselia laid on the floor. "T-this is where I saw those things kill my parents and eat part of them." he buried his face in Leo's leg, sobbing. Leo let him cry for a moment, then walked over to the bodies to examine them. Chunks had been bitten out of their bodies, and blood was still leaking out.

"Did this happen recently?" Leo said.

"Yes. It happened l-last night." the budew said, tears still streaming from his eyes.

"Then I swear that I will not rest until I have returned the favor to the mutants that did this." Leo said, grasping his bow firmly.

"Thank you! they went east after they k-killed them."

"Okay. You stay here. I'll go see if they left the forest or not. But before I start looking, what did they look like?"

"There were two of them, and they looked like skuntanks, except for they had no color in their fur. It was clear. It had razor sharp teeth, claws that could probably cut through metal, and it was bigger than a normal skuntank. And when they spoke, you can't understand them, they just make rapsing noises. And one more thing, how can you understand me?"

Leo had forgotten that not all pokemon knew of the knights. "Oh, you have never heard of the Knights of Arceus? I'm one of them. We are a group of warriors who fight mutants. The humans who join us must be able to understand the language of pokemon. The pokemon must have a pure heart. The pokemon are trained to use their abilities to kill the mutants. These pokemon are very strong, due to the fact that they become immortal in order to train without the limits of time. And I think you are just what the knights are looking for. Would you like to join?"

The budew had to ponder this for several seconds. After he was done, he said, "Yes. It will give me a way to avenge my parents."

"Okay then. Follow me. My friends and I will protect you on the way." Leo said, then walked out of the room, back toward were Leo was resting earlier.

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About ten minutes later, Leo and the budew arrived at the tree where Leo was sitting, and the two leaned against it. "So, what's your name?" Leo asked the budew.

"Pokemon don't have names, unless we make up a nickname for ourselves. Otherwise we just call each other by the name of our species."

"Do you have any thoughts about your name? And are these names human names?"

"Not usually, but sometimes we use human names. But I have been thinking about a certain name."

"Which is?"

"Ivan. You know, it's like the plant ivy, but twisted to sound more manly."

"Ivan is a human name, but I like it. Do you want me to call you that?"

"It is? I had no idea. But I still want to be called Ivan." the budew said, now known as Ivan.

"That's a great name. I'll call you Ivan from bow on." Leo said. The two sat in silence for a few more moments, then Leo noticed a dark figure in the bushes. It was certainly not a pokemon native to this forest. But it could be something native to another region. "Ivan, stay here. I think I just saw a mutant."

"Okay. Go get it."

Leo walked over to where he saw another black pikachu feasting on an unrecognizable corpse. There was blood everywhere, and a few entrails near the beast. Leo readied an arrow just as the mutant finished its meal. Leo almost fired the arrow, but the monster began to glow. It was similar to evolving, Leo had seen it many times before. But this was different. Unlike the white light that surrounds a pokemon when it evolves, this light was black as night. After about a minute, the light dissapeared, leaving behind a new mutant. It was raichu like, except it was black, like its previous form. But now, the tail was completely covered in spikes, and spikes ran up the creatures spine. It had razor sharp teeth, which it tested by cutting down a tree with said teeth in three seconds. "Holy shit." Leo said, then immediatly realized that mistake. The mutant turned and swung it's tail in Leo's direction, even though it was several feet away. At the peak of it's swing, one of the spikes flew out of it's tail, and nearly struck Leo's shoulder, and would have done so of he hadn't moved. "Woah!" Leo yelled as the spike wizzed into the forest behind him. Leo fell to the ground, and the mutant walked up to him, then pointed its tail at him. It opened it's mouth, then spoke in a raspy voice, as Ivan had described. "Get away!" Leo pulled an arrow out of his quiver and stapped the mutant with it, who was only mere feet away. It howled in pain, then collapsed, dead. Leo walked over and retreived his arrow. Blood began to leak out of the corpse, which Leo was surprised to see was not red, but black. "That's interesting. Their blood is black. I hadn't noticed." then he walked back to where Ivan was sitting.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

-Meanwhile, back where the others were hunting for mutants

"Leo must be bored. We're the ones hunting for mutants, and he's just sitting at a tree." Eric said.

"Yeah, that sucks. Do you see a mutant?" Heather said.

"No. Wait, there's one that might be a mutant. Do skuntanks have clear fur?"

"No." Heather said, then dashed toward it. She got near, then slashed at it's side. The mutant howled, then slashed at Heather, clipping her side. "Damn!" she yelled, holding her hand on her bleeding side. The mutant drew closer, then raised its arm to deliver a killing blow. The second before it struck, a fireball hit it in the side of the head, and Heather fled near the others.

"Yes!" Maddie said, then lowered her staff.

"Let me take a hit." Eric said, then sprinted toward the beast. He stopped short. The cut Heather had put in its side was gone. "This thing can heal instantly! I think we have to cut of its head or something that will kill it instantly!" Eric yelled, then ran at the creature.

"Got it!" Heather yelled. She and Eric both charged at the beast, and Maddie readied a fireball. As Eric and Heather drew closer, Maddie launched the fireball. The mutant looked up at the last second, just in time to see Eric and Heather running at it. Before it could react, the two warriors slashed in an uppercut formation, and the skuntank like mutant was airborne. Maddie's fireball struck it in midair. It fell to the ground, twitched a bit, then moved no more.

"Damn that was cool. I wish Julia and Cole were here to see it, though." Eric said.

"We were." The three looked up to find Julia and Cole sitting in the tree. "We watched the whole fight." Cole said, giving the thumbs-up sign.

"Why didn't you help?" Maddie asked.

"We were testing you. We needed to see if you were stronger after the recent training, and you are." Julia said.

"Well thanks for the help. Hace you seen any more mutants?" Heather asked.

"No. We scouted the entire forest." Cole said.

"Only a few, huh? Well, okay then, let's go get Leo." Eric said.

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"Hey Leo!" Maddie yelled, and Leo looked up.

"Hey guys. How was the hunting?" Leo asked.

"We only killed one without you. Hey wait, who's the budew?" Heather asked.

"His name is Ivan. His parents were murdered by mutants. They apparantly looked like skuntanks."

"Really? Well then, you'll be glad to know that we just killed some skuntank-like mutants." Eric said.

"Really? Then my parents are avenged. But i'm still going to join the knights." Ivan said.

"He's going to be a knight? Good for you!" Maddie said.

"Yes I am. So where are we going?" Ivan asked.

"Oh yeah, we get to command our hoverboards for the first time." Eric said, then dug around in his pack for his board. He took it out pressed the button. It expanded, then he stepped on. The others did the same. "Race ya!" He expected to speed off, but the board remained still.

"By the way, the boards only moved by themselves is because they are desinged to do so on the first ride. Now they are thought controlled." Cole explained.

"Okay then. Ivan, you ride in my backpack." Leo instructed the budew. He scooped him up, and placed him in his backpack.

"Now, race ya!" Eric shouted, then sped off. The others followed suit.

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"Ha ha, I still beat you!" Heather said, sticking her tounge out at Eric.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go get our pay." Eric said, then walked over toward the market. "We cleared out Eterna Forest. We also brought back a little budew who wants to join us."

"Fantastic. Here's 300 tokens, and i'll take the budew to the Room of Trials." The man said, then walked off with Ivan.

"Well, I suggest that we go buy some food if we want to eat." Leo stated.

"Agreed." Maddie said. They walked to the fruit stand, and bought a few berries. They went to another stand, and bought a few jugs of water. "Well would you look at that, they don't sell any kind of meat here. Guess we're living of berries and water." Leo said.

"Oh well. I've always kind of liked berries, anyway." Maddie said with a smile. They started towards their room, and were stopped somewhat soon after by an unfamiliar knight.

"You four have a package from Arceus himself. He said it was of the utmost umportance." The knight said, then handed them a golden orb on a pedastal. "Put it in your room. And by the way, Julia and Cole, you two have been ordered to move to the chosen ones dorms. We have constructed a room for you two. Good day." He said, then walked off.

"A gift from Arceus himself? How nice!" Maddie said.

"It's just a decoration. It's probably just a congrats for being chosen." Eric said.

"It's still nice. Let's take it back to our rooms." Maddie said.

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"Set it on the table there." Maddie instructed, and Eric placed the orb

On the table.

"Looks nice." Eric said.

"It looks like we can survive on the food we have for a few days, so we don't have to take a job tomorrow." Leo observed.

"Cool. I don't want to walk that far the day after I return from my first quest." Heather said.

"Hey Julia, what do you do for fun around here?" Eric asked.

"We mostly just train, but there's a pool too." She replied.

"Where? That's as good of entertainment as any." Heather said.

"I don't know. I've never used it. My electricity would be a problem." Julia said.

"Well okay then. I'll try to find it in the morning. What are we having for dinner?" Asked Eric.

"The only thing we could get, which was berries. You know, i've never actually tasted these." Leo said, putting out a bowl if Oran berries.

"You guys will like them, trust me." Said Cole, taking a berry.

The four each took a berry, and put it in their mouths. "This is great! Sweeter than I thought it would be!" Eric said. The group finished the bowl of berries quickly, then went to bed.


End file.
